On-campus students will no longer have to worry about who their roommates will be for the semesters to come.

On April 5, student housing held a placement fair for students to choose their roommates before summer vacation.

The placement fair allowed students to choose their roommates and become acquainted with them.

Placement for housing will no longer be based on class rank.

For incoming freshmen, the plan is to have them placed with a roommate the day the student arrives at Fresh Start.

Deb Gipson, director of housing, said the goal of the fair was to get housing assignments in early and give students a chance to choose whom they will room with before the next year begins.

In preparation for the Housing Placement Fair, Gipson and three resident directors went door-to-door to every building, informing students of the fair and handing out flyers.

“It took us about 10 and a half hours to make sure every student understood the purpose of the fair,” Gipson said.

Adam Griffin, resident director, introduced the new housing plan to Gipson.

Griffin, along with other resident directors, went to a conference, and this plan was one of the many sessions.

Griffin discussed the plan with Gipson, and she decided it would be a good plan.

“I liked the idea,” Gipson said. “It’s pretty neat.”

Gipson said it will take a while to catch on, but it is worth it.

“There will be no more yellow sheets from contracts and no more letters stating who your roommate will be,” Gipson said.

“The only people that will receive letters in the mail are those not yet matched, but it will only be a handful,” Gipson said.

Carla Fairbanks, resident director, said the plan gives the resident directors a chance to know the students and learn a

little bit about them before they move in.

“We will know who is living in our resident buildings before they come,”

Fairbanks said.

Students, as well as the director of housing and resident directors, were in favor of the new plan too.

Jason Givens, senior computer science major and assistant coordinator of student services, said it is a good way to get first pick.

“Students appreciate the new housing plan because they know what they are getting before leaving for the summer,” Givens said.

Givens said he was worried about not knowing with whom he would live the first couple of years he was at Missouri Southern.

Moses Manga, sophomore physical education major, said he likes the plan because you can get it done right away and not have to worry about putting it off.

“I like the idea that I can room with friends and not have to worry about being stuck with someone with preferences different than mine,” Manga said.

Manga said living with another athlete is good because they will have the same hours.

“This is a good thing and I think they should continue to do it in the future,” Manga said.

Gipson said the overall success of the fair was good for the first year.

“Next year it won’t take as much to inform students because they will already know what to expect,” Gipson said.

Housing plans to have the Placement Fair in the future with hopes of equal, or even greater, success.